US10764441B2 - Sound signal processing device and sound signal processing method - Google Patents
Sound signal processing device and sound signal processing method Download PDFInfo
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- US10764441B2 US10764441B2 US16/194,528 US201816194528A US10764441B2 US 10764441 B2 US10764441 B2 US 10764441B2 US 201816194528 A US201816194528 A US 201816194528A US 10764441 B2 US10764441 B2 US 10764441B2
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
- H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
- H04M3/56—Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities
- H04M3/568—Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities audio processing specific to telephonic conferencing, e.g. spatial distribution, mixing of participants
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M9/00—Arrangements for interconnection not involving centralised switching
- H04M9/08—Two-way loud-speaking telephone systems with means for conditioning the signal, e.g. for suppressing echoes for one or both directions of traffic
- H04M9/082—Two-way loud-speaking telephone systems with means for conditioning the signal, e.g. for suppressing echoes for one or both directions of traffic using echo cancellers
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
- G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
- G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
- G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
- G05B19/04—Programme control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers
- G05B19/042—Programme control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers using digital processors
- G05B19/0423—Input/output
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L65/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communication
- H04L65/40—Support for services or applications
- H04L65/403—Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M19/00—Current supply arrangements for telephone systems
- H04M19/02—Current supply arrangements for telephone systems providing ringing current or supervisory tones, e.g. dialling tone or busy tone
- H04M19/04—Current supply arrangements for telephone systems providing ringing current or supervisory tones, e.g. dialling tone or busy tone the ringing-current being generated at the substations
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
- H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
- H04M3/56—Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/60—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers including speech amplifiers
- H04M1/6033—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers including speech amplifiers for providing handsfree use or a loudspeaker mode in telephone sets
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a sound signal processing device and a sound signal processing method suitable for a sound emission-reception apparatus used for remote audio conferencing.
- a pod is unable to connect to a network directly, and is required to connect to a base that serves as a host.
- a base that serves as a host.
- a sound signal processing device includes: a microphone terminal to which a sound signal derived from sound received by a microphone is input; a loudspeaker terminal from which a sound signal directed to a loudspeaker is output; a first input terminal to which a sound signal from another device at a proximal-end is input; a first output terminal from which a sound signal directed to the other device at the proximal-end is output; a distal-end input terminal to which a distal-end sound signal is input via a network; a distal-end output terminal from which a sound signal directed to the network is output; a path establisher configured to establish at least one signal path from at least one of the microphone terminal, the first input terminal, or the distal-end input terminal, to at least one of the loudspeaker terminal, the first output terminal, or the distal-end output terminal; and a path indicator configured to indicate to the path establisher a signal path that is to be established.
- a sound signal processing method is implemented in a device that comprises at least: a microphone terminal to which a sound signal derived from sound received by a microphone is input; a loudspeaker terminal from which a sound signal directed to a loudspeaker is output; a first input terminal to which a sound signal from another device at a proximal-end is input; a first output terminal from which a sound signal directed to the other device is output; a distal-end input terminal to which a distal-end sound signal is input via a network; and a distal-end output terminal from which a sound signal directed to the network is output, the method including: acquiring a connection status of the subject device to the network and a connection status of the other device to the network; and determining, based on the acquired connection statuses, at least one signal path from at least one of the microphone terminal, the first input terminal, or the distal-end input terminal, to at least one of the loudspeaker terminal, the first output terminal, or the
- FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system that includes a sound emission-reception apparatus according to a first embodiment.
- FIG. 3 is a diagram showing functional blocks of the sound emission-reception apparatus.
- FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operation sequence of the system.
- FIG. 5 is a diagram showing signal paths established by a path establisher in the sound emission-reception apparatus.
- FIG. 6 is a diagram showing signal paths established by the path establisher in the sound emission-reception apparatus.
- FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a system in which two sound emission-reception apparatuses are connected to a network.
- FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an operation sequence of the system.
- FIG. 9 is a diagram showing signal paths established by the path establisher in the sound emission-reception apparatus.
- FIG. 10 is a diagram showing signal paths established by the path establisher in the sound emission-reception apparatus according to an exemplary application.
- FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a system that includes a sound emission-reception apparatus according to a second embodiment.
- FIG. 12 is a diagram showing functional blocks of the sound emission-reception apparatus.
- FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an operation sequence of the system.
- FIG. 14 is a diagram showing signal paths established by the path establisher in the sound emission-reception apparatus.
- FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an operation sequence of a system in which two or more sound emission-reception apparatuses are connected to the network.
- FIG. 16 is a diagram showing signal paths established by the path establisher in the sound emission-reception apparatus.
- FIG. 17 is a diagram showing signal paths established by the path establisher in the sound emission-reception apparatus according to an exemplary application.
- FIG. 18 is a diagram showing functional blocks of a sound emission-reception apparatus according to a third embodiment.
- FIG. 19 is a diagram showing signal paths established by the path establisher in the sound emission-reception apparatus.
- FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an exemplary setting of delay devices.
- FIG. 21 is a diagram showing another example of signal paths established by the path establisher in the sound emission-reception apparatus.
- FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an exemplary setting of the delay devices in another example.
- FIG. 23 is a diagram showing signal paths established by the path establisher in the sound emission-reception apparatus according to an exemplary application.
- FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a connection configuration (example 1) of sound emission-reception apparatuses according to a fourth embodiment.
- FIG. 25 is a diagram showing another connection configuration (example 2).
- FIG. 26 is a diagram showing another connection configuration (example 3).
- FIG. 27 is a diagram showing another connection configuration (example 4).
- FIG. 28 is a diagram showing functional blocks of the sound emission-reception apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.
- FIG. 29 is a diagram showing signal paths established by the path establisher in the sound emission-reception apparatus.
- FIG. 30 is a diagram showing signal paths established by the path establisher in the sound emission-reception apparatus.
- FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an exemplary setting of delay devices.
- FIG. 32 is a diagram showing an exemplary setting of delay devices.
- FIG. 33 is a diagram showing signal paths established by the path establisher in the sound emission-reception apparatus according to an exemplary application.
- FIG. 34 is a diagram showing signal paths established by the path establisher in the sound emission-reception apparatus according to the exemplary application.
- FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system that includes a sound emission-reception apparatus according to a first embodiment.
- a system 1 includes two sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 .
- the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 have the same configuration, with the exception of interior established signal paths, which will be described later.
- the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are installed apart from each other in a place, such as a meeting room.
- Each sound emission-reception apparatus 10 includes a notification device 130 , such as an LED; and an input device 140 , such as a momentary push-on switch.
- the two sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are connected to each other via a cable C.
- a single cable C transmits two sound signals.
- two cables may be used, each of which transmits one sound signal.
- FIG. 1 shows an example in which one of the two sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 is connected to a network 400 via a PC 300 . Another system (illustration omitted) installed in another place is connected to the network 400 . In this setting, the system 1 and the other system exchange sound signals with each other.
- each of the two sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 may be connected to the network 400 via the PC 300 .
- connection refers to direct or indirect coupling between two or more elements; and there may be one or more intermediate elements between these two or more elements, with the exception of the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 .
- a connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination of both.
- the connection between elements may be realized by electric wire, cable, or wiring on a printed circuit board, or may be realized by use of wireless communication, or by a combination of two or more of these forms.
- a single sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is connected to the network 400 via the PC 300 . It is to be noted, however, that if the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is treated as an intermediate element, there is room to assume that the other sound emission-reception apparatus 10 may be connected to the network 400 via the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 and the PC 300 . To exclude the possibility of any such assumption, the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is not included among the intermediate elements.
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is connected to the network 400 via the PC 300 , since by using a network connecting capability provided in the PC 300 , the configuration of the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 can be simplified.
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 may be equipped with a network connecting capability and may be directly connected to the network 400 .
- the PC 300 is merely a relay point to the network 400 . Accordingly, in the following description, the presence of the PC 300 will not be discussed, and the point of focus will be whether the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is connected to the network 400 .
- a typical example of the network 400 is the Internet.
- examples of the network 400 include an intra-firm LAN (local area network), a wireless telephone network, and a wired telephone network.
- FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration of a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 .
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 includes a microphone 12 , an ADC (analog to digital converter) 14 , a DAC (digital to analog converter) 16 , a loudspeaker 18 , a CPU (central processing unit) 100 , a memory 110 , an I/F (interface) 120 , a notification device 130 , an input device 140 , a communication device 150 , a bus 160 , and a DSP (digital signal processor) 200 .
- ADC analog to digital converter
- DAC digital to analog converter
- loudspeaker 18 the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 includes a microphone 12 , an ADC (analog to digital converter) 14 , a DAC (digital to analog converter) 16 , a loudspeaker 18 , a CPU (central processing unit) 100 , a memory 110 , an I/F (interface) 120 , a notification device 130 , an input device 140 , a communication device 150 , a bus 160 , and a DSP
- the ADC and the DAC are expressed respectively as AD and DA in the figures.
- the term “device” or “apparatus” may be substituted with a term such as circuitry, unit, or module.
- the CPU 100 controls each element of the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 by executing a program stored in the memory 110 .
- the memory 110 stores temporal data stored by the CPU 100 and the DSP 200 .
- the microphone 12 receives sounds around the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 to generate an analog sound signal. Specifically, sounds received by the microphone 12 are voices of participants in a meeting room in which the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is installed.
- the ADC 14 converts the sound signal derived from sounds received by the microphone 12 into a digital signal and provides the digital signal to the DSP 200 .
- An ADC 251 converts a sound signal provided from another apparatus via the cable C into a digital signal, and provides the digital signal to the DSP 200 .
- the DSP 200 performs, with use of signal paths indicated by the CPU 100 (path indicator), computational processing on a sound signal converted by the ADC 14 ; the proximal-end sound signal being converted by the ADC 251 ; and the sound signal being provided by the other distal-end system via the network 400 , the I/F 120 , and the bus 160 .
- the DSP then outputs the processed sound signals to the DAC 16 , a DAC 261 , the loudspeaker 18 , and the other distal-end system.
- distal-end refers to a signal and the like that passes through the network 400 ; and the term “proximal-end” refers to a signal and the like that does not pass through the network 400 .
- the subject apparatus refers to a single sound emission-reception apparatus 10 in focus.
- the other apparatus refers to a proximal-end sound emission-reception apparatus 10 other than the subject apparatus within the same system.
- the communication device 150 may communicate with the other apparatus by wireless communication, for example.
- the DAC 16 converts the sound signals processed by the DSP 200 into analog signals and outputs the analog signals.
- the loudspeaker 18 converts the sound signals converted by the DAC 16 into sounds and outputs the sounds.
- the DAC 261 converts the sound signals processed by the DSP 200 into analog signals and outputs the analog signals.
- the DSP 200 executes signal processing. Before being processed by the DSP 200 , the signals are converted into digital format by the ADC 14 and the ADC 251 , and after being processed by the DSP 200 , the signals are converted back into analog format by the DAC 16 and the DAC 261 . As will be described later, in place of digital signal processing by the DSP 200 , there may be employed analog signal processing. Where analog signal processing is performed, none of the ADC 14 , the ADC 251 , the DAC 16 , and the DAC 261 are required.
- FIG. 2 a single microphone 12 and a single loudspeaker 18 are illustrated. However, there may be multiple microphones 12 and multiple loudspeakers 18 .
- the DSP 200 , the ADC 14 , the ADC 251 , the DAC 16 , and the DAC 261 are described as separate bodies for a purpose of describing signal paths that are established in the DSP 200 .
- the DSP 200 may house the ADC 14 , the ADC 251 , the DAC 16 , and the DAC 261 .
- FIG. 3 is a diagram showing functional blocks of the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 , with a focus on the flow of signals.
- a detector 102 and the path indicator 104 are established in the CPU 100 by execution of the program, and a path establisher 202 is established in the DSP 200 . Illustration of the I/F 120 shown in FIG. 2 is omitted in FIG. 3 since the I/F 120 is not involved in the flow of signals.
- the detector 102 detects whether the subject apparatus is connected to the network 400 and is in a condition to be able to exchange sound signals with another system.
- the detector 102 outputs a detection result to the path indicator 104 . If the detector 102 detects that the subject apparatus is connected to the network 400 , the detector 102 provides sound signals from the other system to a distal-end input terminal 211 of the path establisher 202 , and transfers sound signals output from a distal-end output terminal 213 of the path establisher 202 toward the other system.
- the path indicator 104 directs the notification device 130 to notify a user, and after the user operates the input device 140 , receives operation information.
- the user refers to a part or all of the participants in a meeting room in which the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 a and 10 b are installed.
- the path indicator 104 directs the communication device 150 to exchange information with the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 , which is the other apparatus, and indicates to the path establisher 202 signal paths that are to be established.
- the path establisher 202 establishes signal paths indicated by the path indicator 104 .
- the signal paths refer to two or more paths originating from the distal-end input terminal 211 , a microphone terminal 212 , and a first input terminal 221 , and reaching the distal-end output terminal 213 , a loudspeaker terminal 214 , and a first output terminal 231 .
- signals passing through the signal paths undergo computational processing, such as delay, addition and subtraction, and distribution.
- the signal paths include paths through which signals are directly provided from starting points to end points and paths through which signals are indirectly provided from starting points to end points, elements such as a delay device or an adder intervening therebetween.
- the microphone terminal 212 of a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is a terminal to which a sound signal derived from sound received by the microphone 12 of the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is input; and the loudspeaker terminal 214 of the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is a terminal from which a sound signal is output toward the loudspeaker 18 of the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 .
- the first input terminal 221 is a terminal to which a sound signal from the other apparatus is input
- the first output terminal 231 is a terminal from which a sound signal is output toward the other apparatus.
- the terminal here refers to a structure to which a signal is input or from which a signal is output. More specifically, the terminal is a signal pin, a part of a wire, or a connector, for example.
- the microphone 12 and the loudspeaker 18 do not need to be provided inside the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 , and may be provided outside of the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 . Regardless of whether the microphone 12 and the loudspeaker 18 are provided inside or outside the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 , the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is provided with the microphone terminal 212 , to which sound signals derived from sound received by the microphone 12 are input, and is provided with the loudspeaker terminal 214 , from which sound signals are output toward the loudspeaker 18 .
- FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operation sequence of the system 1 in such case.
- FIG. 4 shows exchange of information between a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 connected to the network 400 and a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 not connected to the network 400 .
- “a” is appended to the tails of reference signs of elements in the sound emission-reception apparatus connected to the network 400
- “b” is appended to the tails of reference signs of elements in the sound emission-reception apparatus not connected to the network 400 .
- the reference sign of the sound emission-reception apparatus connected to the network 400 is “ 10 a ”, and that of the path indicator therein is “ 104 a ”.
- the reference sign of the sound emission-reception apparatus not connected to the network 400 is “ 10 b ”, and that of the path indicator therein is “ 104 b”.
- the detector 102 a In the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a , after the detector 102 a detects that the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a is connected to the network 400 , the detector 102 a provides the detection result to the path indicator 104 a . After being provided with the detection result, the path indicator 104 a directs the communication device 150 a to transmit the detection result to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b (step Sa 11 ). Thus, the detection result that the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a is connected to the network is transmitted to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b.
- the communication device 150 b transfers the detection result to the path indicator 104 b .
- the path indicator 104 b to which the detection result has been transferred, further receives a detection result of the detector 102 b in the subject sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b . Since the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b is not connected to the network 400 , the path indicator 104 b receives from the detector 102 b the detection result that the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b is not connected to the network 400 (connection not detected).
- the path indicator 104 b directs the communication device 150 b to transmit the detection result of the detector 102 b to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a (step Sa 16 ). In this way, the detection result that the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b is not connected to the network is transmitted to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a.
- the communication device 150 a transfers the detection result to the path indicator 104 a .
- the path indicator 104 a to which the detection result has been transferred, directs the path establisher 202 a to establish signal paths used in a master apparatus (prt), and directs the communication device 150 a to transmit a notification (request) that signal paths of a slave apparatus (chd) used in the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b are to be established (step Sa 17 ).
- the path establisher 202 a establishes the signal paths of the master apparatus (prt) in accordance with the direction (step Sa 18 ).
- the communication device 150 b transfers the notification to the path indicator 104 b .
- the path indicator 104 b to which the notification has been transferred, directs the path establisher 202 b to establish the signal paths of the slave apparatus (chd). In accordance with the direction, the path establisher 202 b establishes the signal paths of the slave apparatus (chd) (step Sa 19 ).
- the master apparatus (prt) and the slave apparatus (chd) are different from each other with respect to the signal paths established by the corresponding path establisher 202 .
- the master apparatus (prt) may be changed to the slave apparatus (chd), and the slave apparatus (chd) may be changed to the master apparatus (prt).
- each of the two sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 is assigned the role of either the master apparatus (prt) or the slave apparatus (chd) depending on the situation.
- the role of each sound emission-reception apparatus 10 may be changed to the master apparatus (prt) or to the slave apparatus (chd).
- FIG. 5 is a diagram showing signal paths established in the path establisher 202 a and in the path establisher 202 b , and their connection status.
- the two sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are connected via the cable C in the following manner.
- the cable C connects the first output terminal 231 of the path establisher 202 a to the first input terminal 221 of the path establisher 202 b , and connects the first output terminal 231 of the path establisher 202 b to the first input terminal 221 of the path establisher 202 a.
- the cable C connects the output terminals of the DACs 261 to the input terminals of the ADCs 251 .
- the DACs 261 and the ADCs 251 can be disregarded since the DACs 261 and the ADCs 251 are optional elements and do not affect the signal paths as described above.
- the path establisher 202 a of the master apparatus the following two signal paths are established. More specifically, in the path establisher 202 a , there are established:
- the following two signal paths are established. More specifically, in the path establisher 202 b , there are established:
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is set as the master apparatus (prt), and the other sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is set as the slave apparatus (chd).
- the signal paths (A) and (B) are established in the path establisher 202 a of the master apparatus (prt) and the signal paths (C) and (D) are established in the path establisher 202 b of the slave apparatus (chd)
- the following operations are executed.
- a sound signal derived from sound received by the microphone 12 of the master apparatus (prt) and a sound signal derived from sound received by the microphone 12 of the slave apparatus (chd) are added together by the adder 242 , and the resultant signal is output from the distal-end output terminal 213 of the master apparatus (prt) to another system at a distal-end (network 400 ).
- a sound signal that is provided by the other system and is input to the distal-end input terminal 211 of the master apparatus (prt) is distributed in the master apparatus (prt), and is output from the loudspeaker 18 of the master apparatus (prt) and from the loudspeaker 18 of the slave apparatus (chd) as sound. In this way, the system 1 is able to exchange sound signals with the other system at a distant location.
- FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 an exemplary case is shown in which the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a is connected to the network 400 and the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b is not connected to the network 400 .
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b is connected to the network 400 and the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a is not connected to the network 400
- only the setting as the master apparatus (prt) or the slave apparatus (chd) is switched as shown in FIG. 6
- the equivalent circuit of signal paths is the same as the equivalent circuit of signal paths shown in FIG. 5 .
- FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an operation sequence of the system 1 in the present case.
- the “a” and “b” at the tail of the reference signs are used only to distinguish these two sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 .
- the detector 102 a detects connection to the network 400 , and the path indicator 104 a directs the communication device 150 a to transmit the detection result to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b (step Sb 11 ).
- the above step is similar to step Sa 11 . Since the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b is also connected to the network 400 , the detector 102 b detects connection to the network 400 and provides the detection result to the path indicator 104 b , and the path indicator 104 b directs the communication device 150 b to transmit the detection result to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a (step Sb 12 ).
- the communication device 150 a transfers the information to the path indicator 104 a .
- the path indicator 104 a decides that the subject apparatus and the other apparatus are connected to the network 400 .
- the communication device 150 b transfers the information to the path indicator 104 b .
- the path indicator 104 b decides that the subject apparatus and the other apparatus are connected to the network 400 .
- each of the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 a and 10 b is able to recognize that both the subject apparatus and the other apparatus are connected to the network 400 .
- the path indicator 104 a directs the notification device 130 a to notify the user (step Sb 13 ). Accordingly, the notification device 130 a notifies the user that the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a is a candidate for selection, by causing an LED, for example, to blink.
- the path indicator 104 b directs the notification device 130 b to notify the user (step Sb 14 ). Accordingly, the notification device 130 a notifies the user that the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b is a candidate for selection, by causing an LED, for example, to blink.
- the user operates either the input device 140 a or the input device 140 b to select one apparatus among the candidates for selection (step Sb 21 ).
- description will be given assuming that the user operates the input device 140 a.
- the reason that one apparatus is selected is to determine a network connection of which sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is to be enabled, among multiple (here two) sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 connected to the network 400 .
- the input device 140 a After the user operates the input device 140 a , the input device 140 a outputs operation information indicative that the input device 140 a has been operated. Having received the operation information, the path indicator 104 a directs the notification device 130 a to terminate notification to the user and directs the communication device 150 a to transmit a result of the reception to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b (step Sb 15 ). As a result, the notification device 130 a causes the LED to go out, and information indicating that the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a has been selected by the user is transmitted to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b.
- the information is transferred to the path indicator 104 b .
- the path indicator 104 b to which the information has been transferred, directs the notification device 130 b to terminate notification to the user, and directs the communication device 150 b to transmit to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a an announcement that the network connection at the subject sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b will be disabled (step Sb 16 ).
- the announcement of disablement is transmitted to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a .
- a functional block illustration of which is omitted in FIG. 3 , such as the PC 300 or a functional block that controls connection to the network 400 , releases the network connection.
- the announcement of disablement is transferred to the path indicator 104 a .
- the path indicator 104 a to which the announcement of disablement has been transferred, directs the path establisher 202 a to establish signal paths of the master apparatus (prt) and directs the communication device 150 a to transmit to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b a notification that signal paths of the slave apparatus (chd) are to be established (step Sb 17 ).
- the path establisher 202 a establishes the signal paths of the master apparatus (prt) (step Sb 18 ), and the path establisher 202 b establishes the signal paths of the slave apparatus (chd) (step Sb 19 ).
- FIG. 9 is a diagram showing signal paths established in the path establishers 202 a and 202 b and connection statuses of the signal paths. Description of FIG. 5 also applies to FIG. 9 , except that the network 400 connected to the slave apparatus (chd) is disabled as shown by the dashed line.
- the selected sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a is set as the master apparatus (prt), and the other sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b is set as the slave apparatus (chd). Accordingly, similarly to a case where a single sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is connected to the network 400 , it is possible to exchange sound signals with the other system at a distant location.
- the network connection is enabled for a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 for which the input device 140 has been operated.
- the network connection may be disabled for a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 for which the input device 140 has been operated.
- a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 may receive from another sound emission-reception apparatus 10 an announcement of disablement of the network connection, and may enable the network connection after the input device 140 detects the absence of an operation to disable the network connection within a predetermined time.
- Examples of notification to the user are not limited to blinking of the LED.
- the notification device 130 may be a matrix display capable of displaying characters and may display a message prompting the user to make a selection, or the notification device 130 may be a voice synthesizing device and may synthesize and output a voice message prompting the user to make a selection, or these forms may be used in combination as appropriate. That is, a manner of notification is not limited to a display (sight), and notification may be achieved by any means that can be sensed by any of the five senses, such as sound (hearing) and vibration (touch).
- the notification device 130 and the input device 140 may be superimposed on each other by use of a matrix display and a touch panel, for example.
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 transmits sound signals with the cable C in analog format so that the configuration of the sound input-output apparatus 10 is simplified.
- the path establisher 202 which establishes signal paths of the master apparatus (prt) or the slave apparatus (chd)
- the DSP 200 is realized by computational processing by the DSP 200
- transmission of sound signals in digital format will require synchronization between computational processing and signal transmission in the master apparatus (prt) and computational processing and signal transmission in the slave apparatus (chd), thereby resulting in a complex configuration.
- each sound emission-reception apparatus 10 transmitting sound signals in analog format as in the present embodiment, each sound emission-reception apparatus 10 can independently execute its computational processing, thus making it possible to omit an element for synchronization.
- Sound signals require to be D/A-converted for output, and sound signals require to be A/D-converted for input. Accordingly, sound signals will be delayed for a length of time required for the conversion.
- a sound signal derived from sound received by the microphone 12 of the slave apparatus (chd) passes through the DAC 261 of the slave apparatus (chd) and the ADC 251 of the master apparatus (prt).
- a sound signal output toward the loudspeaker 18 of the slave apparatus (chd) passes through the DAC 261 of the master apparatus (prt) and the ADC 251 of the slave apparatus (chd).
- a sound signal output toward the loudspeaker 18 of the master apparatus (prt) passes through the DAC 261 of the master apparatus (prt) and the ADC 251 of the slave apparatus (chd).
- a sound signal output toward the loudspeaker 18 of the master apparatus (prt) there will be signal delay corresponding to the length of time required for D/A conversion and A/D conversion.
- a delay time of the delay device 241 is set to be equal to the sum of a delay time that results from analog conversion in the DAC 261 and a delay time that results from digital conversion in the ADC 251 .
- a delay time of the delay device 243 is set to be equal to the sum of a delay time that results from analog conversion in the DAC 261 and a delay time that results from digital conversion in the ADC 251 .
- a sound signal derived from sound received by the microphone 12 of the master apparatus (prt) and a sound signal derived from sound received by the microphone 12 of the slave apparatus (chd) are delayed for nearly an equal length of time.
- the sound signal derived from sound received by the microphone 12 of the master apparatus (prt) and the sound signal derived from sound received by the microphone 12 of the slave apparatus (chd) are added together with little difference in timing and the resultant signal is output toward the network 400 . Accordingly, deterioration of the sound signal can be prevented.
- the sound signal output toward the loudspeaker 18 of the master apparatus (prt) and the sound signal output toward the loudspeaker 18 of the slave apparatus (chd) are delayed for nearly an equal length of time. Thus, it is possible to reduce a difference between timings at which sounds are output from the each of the loudspeakers 18 .
- FIG. 10 is a diagram showing signal paths established in the path establishers 202 a and 202 b of sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 according to an exemplary application of the first embodiment. As shown in the figure, an echo canceller 244 is provided in each of the master apparatus (prt) and the slave apparatus (chd).
- the echo canceller 244 first generates a simulated echo component by filtering a sound signal output toward the loudspeaker terminal 214 with filter coefficients that accord with an estimated transfer function of acoustic space from the loudspeaker 18 to the microphone 12 .
- the echo canceller 244 secondly subtracts the generated simulated echo component from a sound signal input to the microphone terminal 212 to output the resultant signal.
- the echo canceller 244 By use of the echo canceller 244 , even if sound output from the loudspeaker 18 seeps to and is received by the microphone 12 , the seeping component is subtracted. Consequently, effects of the seeping sound are minimized and deterioration of a sound signal derived from the received sound is suppressed.
- the path indicator 104 may cause a single random number to be generated in each of two sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 and cause the communication device 150 to transmit the generated random number.
- the path indicator 104 of a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 compares a random number generated in the subject apparatus with a random number that is generated in the other sound emission-reception apparatus 10 and is received by the communication device 150 .
- the subject apparatus is determined to be the master apparatus (prt) and the other apparatus is determined to be the slave apparatus (chd). If the subject apparatus is determined to be the master apparatus (prt), the network connection of the subject apparatus is enabled, and if the other apparatus is determined to be the slave apparatus (chd), the network connection of the other apparatus is disabled.
- the sound signal processing device it is possible to change a signal path established by the path establisher depending on circumstance. For example, it is possible to switch from a signal path used for a master apparatus that connects to the network to a signal path used for a slave apparatus subordinate to the master apparatus. Accordingly, there is no need for either a separate dedicated device that functions as a master apparatus or for a separate dedicated device that serves as a slave apparatus.
- a sound signal processing device included in a sound emission-reception apparatus can be connected to a network.
- the number of sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 forming the system 1 is not limited to two, and the system 1 may be expanded to include two or more sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 .
- FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a system that includes sound emission-reception apparatuses according to the second embodiment.
- the number of sound emission-reception apparatuses constituting the system 1 is four.
- each sound emission-reception apparatus 10 includes a notification device 130 and an input device 140 , and includes a built-in microphone 12 and a built-in loudspeaker 18 .
- the four sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are referred to as A, B, C, and D in order to distinguish them, the four sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are connected in a manner of A ⁇ B ⁇ C ⁇ D ⁇ (A) where “ ⁇ ” represents connection by a cable C. In other words, the four sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are circularly connected by four cables C.
- a single cable C transmits two sound signals.
- a single sound emission-reception apparatus 10 (the “A” in FIG. 11 ) is connected to the network 400 via the PC 300 , and exchanges sound signals via the network 400 with other systems (illustration omitted) present in other locations.
- a hardware configuration of a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment differs from that in the first embodiment in the surroundings of the DSP 200 . Accordingly, in the second embodiment, description will be given focusing on functional blocks of the surroundings of the DSP 200 .
- FIG. 12 is a diagram showing functional blocks of a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment.
- a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment (see FIG. 3 ) in that there are provided in the DSP 200 (path establisher 202 ) a second input terminal 222 in addition to the first input terminal 221 , and a second output terminal 232 in addition to the first output terminal 231 .
- ordinal numbers such as “first” and “second”, appearing in names of elements are used to distinguish two or more elements, and are not intended to define their order.
- first input terminal 221 and the second input terminal 222 one of two input terminals is referred to as the first input terminal 221 and the other one is referred to as the second input terminal 222 .
- An ADC 252 converts a proximal-end sound signal into a digital signal and provides it to the second input terminal 222 , and a DAC 262 converts a sound signal output from the second output terminal 232 into an analog signal and outputs it toward another apparatus at a proximal-end.
- the second embodiment there are two possible cases: a case where only a single sound emission-reception apparatus 10 among the multiple (here four) sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 is connected to the network 400 ; and a case where two or more sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are connected to the network 400 .
- FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an operation sequence of the system 1 in this case.
- “a” is appended to the tail of the reference sign of a sound emission-reception apparatus connected to the network 400
- “b”, “c”, and “d” are appended to the tails of the reference signs of sound emission-reception apparatuses not connected to the network 400 .
- the operation sequence shown in this figure is essentially the same as that shown in FIG. 4 , with the exception that the number of the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 not connected to the network 400 is greater in FIG. 13 than in FIG. 4 .
- the detection result is transmitted to the other sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 b , 10 c , and 10 d (step Sc 11 ).
- Each of the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 b , 10 c , and 10 d which have received the detection result, transmits to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a a detection result (network not detected) indicating that the subject apparatus is not connected to the network 400 (step Sc 16 ).
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a determines signal paths in itself and in other apparatuses (step Sc 17 ).
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a sets itself as the master apparatus (prt) (step Sc 18 ) and sets the other apparatuses as slave apparatuses (chd) (step Sc 19 ).
- FIG. 14 is a diagram showing signal paths established in the path establishers 202 a , 202 b , . . . , and 202 d , and connection statuses of the signal paths in the second embodiment.
- illustration of the path establisher 202 c is omitted for descriptive purposes.
- the four sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are connected by cables C in the following manner.
- the first output terminal 231 of an apparatus and the first input terminal 221 of another apparatus are connected by a cable C; and the second output terminal 232 of the apparatus and the second input terminal 222 of the other apparatus are connected by a cable C.
- All the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are circularly connected by cables C, as described above.
- the user when connecting the four sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 by the cables C, the user need not consider which of the master apparatus (prt) or the slave apparatus (chd) each of the four sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 is going to form.
- the DAC 261 , the DAC 262 , the ADC 251 , and the ADC 252 are disregarded in describing connections with the cables C.
- path establisher 202 b of a slave apparatus two signal paths described below are established. Specifically, in the path establisher 202 b , there are established:
- path establisher 202 b As representative of those in the slave apparatus (chd). Similar signal paths are established in the path establishers 202 c and 202 d.
- this sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is set as the master apparatus (prt) and the other three apparatuses are set as the slave apparatuses (chd).
- the following operations are executed after signal paths (A), (B), (C), and (D) are established in the path establisher 202 a of the master apparatus (prt) and signal paths (E) and (F) are established in each of the path establishers 202 b , 202 c , and 202 d of the slave apparatuses (chd).
- a sound signal derived from sound received by the microphone 12 of the single master apparatus (prt) and sound signals derived from sounds received by the microphones 12 of the three slave apparatuses (chd) are added together by the adders 242 , and the resultant signal is output from the distal-end output terminal 213 of the master apparatus (prt) toward the network 400 .
- a sound signal that is provided from another system and is input to the distal-end input terminal 211 of the master apparatus (prt) is distributed to the three slave apparatus (chd) and to the single master apparatus (prt) sequentially, and sound corresponding to the sound signal is output from each of the loudspeakers 18 of the three slave apparatus (chd) and also from the loudspeaker 18 of the single master apparatus (prt). In this way, the system 1 is able to exchange sound signals with another system at a distant location.
- FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an operation sequence of the system in this case.
- the operation sequence is essentially the same as that shown in FIG. 8 , with the exception that the number of the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 connected to the network 400 is greater in FIG. 15 than in FIG. 8 .
- the detection result is transmitted to the other sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 b , 10 c , and 10 d (step Sd 11 ).
- Each of the other sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 b , 10 c , and 10 d also detects a connection to the network 400 , and transmits the detection result to the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 other than itself (step Sd 12 ).
- the LED of the notification device 130 a is caused to blink so as to notify the user that the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a is a candidate for selection (step Sd 13 ).
- the LED is caused to blink so as to notify the user that the subject apparatus is a candidate for selection (step Sd 14 ).
- the user operates one of the input device 140 a , 140 b , 140 c , or 140 d to select a single apparatus (step Sb 21 ).
- the user operates the input device 140 a.
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a Having received an operation by the user, the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a causes the LED to go out and transmits to the other sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 b , 10 c , and 10 d information indicating that the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a has been selected by the user (step Sd 15 ). Having received a result indicating that the operation has been received, each of the other sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 b , 10 c , and 10 d causes the LED to go out and executes an operation to disable the network connection, and transmits to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a announcement of disablement (step Sd 16 ).
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a After the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a receives from all of the other sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 b , 10 c , and 10 d the announcement of disablement (or a detection result indicating that the network is not detected), the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a determines signal paths in itself and in other apparatuses (step Sd 17 ). The sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a sets itself as the master apparatus (prt) (step Sd 18 ) and sets other apparatuses as the slave apparatuses (chd) (step Sd 19 ).
- a case is described where all the four sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are connected to the network 400 . However, it is sufficient so long as two or more sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are connected to the network 400 .
- a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 that is not connected to the network 400 transmits a result indicating that the network is not detected and the LED in the corresponding notification device 130 is not caused to blink. Accordingly, the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 not connected to the network 400 is excluded from candidates for selection by the user and is set as a slave apparatus (chd).
- the delay time of the delay device 241 is set to “n ⁇ d”, and the delay time of the delay device 243 is set to “(m ⁇ n)d”.
- the denotation “ ⁇ ” represents multiplication.
- the denotation “m” represents the number of sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 in the system 1 .
- the denotation “n” represents a number of the subject apparatus when counted from the master apparatus (prt) along the flow of signals in the ring connection, in a case where the subject apparatus is a slave apparatus (chd).
- the “n” represents the number of times of passing through a combination of a DAC 261 (or 262 ) and an ADC 251 (or 252 ), starting from the master apparatus (prt).
- the denotation “n” has the same value as the denotation “m”.
- the denotation “d” represents a sum of the delay time resulting from analog conversion at a single DAC 261 (or 262 ) and the delay time resulting from digital conversion at a single ADC 251 (or 252 ).
- the denotation “m” is “4”. Since the path establisher 202 a connected to the network 400 is set as the master apparatus (prt), the denotation “n” with respect to the path establisher 202 a is “4”, which is the same value as “m”. Accordingly, in the path establisher 202 a , the delay time for the delay device 241 is set to “0” and the delay time of the delay device 243 is set to “0”.
- the denotation “n” for the path establisher 202 b , 202 c , and 202 d are respectively “1”, “2”, and “3”.
- the delay time of the delay device 241 is set to “1 ⁇ d” and the delay time of the delay device 243 is set to “3 ⁇ d”.
- the delay time of the delay device 241 is set to “2 ⁇ d” and the delay time of the delay device 243 is set to “2 ⁇ d”.
- the delay time of the delay device 241 is set to “3 ⁇ d” and the delay time of the delay device 243 is set to “1 ⁇ d”.
- the denotation “n” for a sound emission-reception apparatus set as a slave apparatus (chd) may be set by the user, or may be decided by the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 in the following manner.
- each of the communication devices 150 of the slave apparatuses (chd) communicates with the communication device 150 of the master apparatus (prt), and can decide “n” by detecting a difference between a time of transmission of a test signal from the master apparatus (prt) and a time of arrival of the test signal at the subject apparatus (i.e., time required for DA-conversion and AD-conversion).
- the system 1 is able to exchange sound signals with other systems at distant locations.
- the second embodiment in particular, even when a meeting room is large or a number of participants is large, many sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 can be installed for distribution over a wide range, as long as the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are circularly connected by cables C.
- the user in a case where multiple sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are connected to the network 400 , the user can select the network connection of one of the apparatuses that is to be enabled and the network connections of the other apparatuses that are to be disabled. In this way, the usability to the user can be improved.
- the number of connected apparatuses is “4”.
- the number of connected apparatuses may be any number equal to or greater than “2”.
- the connection configuration by the cables C will be almost the same as that in the first embodiment, and there will be no advantage in having a ring connection.
- FIG. 17 is a diagram showing signal paths in the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 according to an exemplary application of the second embodiment.
- the echo canceller 244 is provided in each of the master apparatus (prt) and the slave apparatuses (chd). The location, operations, and functions of the echo canceller 244 are similar to those described with reference to FIG. 10 .
- the third embodiment allows network connections by multiple apparatuses.
- Networks 400 to which the apparatuses are allowed to connect may be of the same type or may be of different types.
- FIG. 18 is a diagram showing functional blocks of a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 according to the third embodiment.
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 of the third embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in that the notification device 130 and the input device 140 are not provided (first difference) and in signal paths in the path establisher 202 formed in the DSP 200 (second difference).
- the first difference results from the fact that elements for selecting one apparatus are unnecessary since multiple apparatuses are allowed to connect to networks in the third embodiment, as described above.
- the second difference results from the fact that, compared to the first embodiment, there are provided in the DSP 200 (path establisher 202 ) a second input terminal 222 , a third input terminal 223 , and a fourth input terminal 224 , in addition to the first input terminal 221 ; and there are also provided a second output terminal 232 , a third output terminal 233 , and a fourth output terminal 234 , in addition to the first output terminal 231 .
- Each of the ADCs 251 to 254 converts a proximal-end sound signal into a digital signal and provides the digital signal to the corresponding one of the first input terminal 221 to the fourth input terminal 224 .
- the DACs 261 to 264 convert sound signals output respectively from the first output terminal 231 to the fourth output terminal 234 into analog signals, and outputs the analog signals to another apparatus at a proximal-end.
- one among the six sound emission-reception apparatuses is determined to be the master apparatus (prt), and the remaining five apparatuses are determined to be the slave apparatuses (chd).
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a is determined to be the master apparatus (prt)
- the other sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 b , 10 c , 10 d , 10 e , and 10 f are determined to be the slave apparatuses (chd).
- FIG. 19 is a diagram showing signal paths established in the path establishers 202 a , 202 b , . . . , and 202 f and connection statuses of the signal paths in the third embodiment.
- illustration of the path establishers 202 c , 202 d , and 202 e is omitted in FIG. 19 .
- the six sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are connected by cables C in the following manner.
- Cables C connect from the first output terminal 231 of an apparatus to the first input terminal 221 of another apparatus; from the second output terminal 232 of the apparatus to the second input terminal 222 of the other apparatus; from the third output terminal 233 of the apparatus to the third input terminal 223 of the other apparatus; and from the fourth output terminal 234 of the apparatus to the fourth input terminal 224 of the other apparatus.
- a single cable C transmits four sound signals.
- four cables may be used, each of which transmits a single sound signal.
- all the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are circularly connected by the cables C in the third embodiment.
- the user when connecting the six sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 with the cables C, the user need not consider which of the master apparatus (prt) or the slave apparatus (chd) each sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is going to form.
- the DACs 261 to 264 and the ADCs 251 to 254 are disregarded in describing connections with the cables C.
- path establisher 202 b of a slave apparatus four signal paths described below are established. Specifically, in the path establisher 202 b , there are established:
- path establisher 202 b As representative of those in the slave apparatuses (chd). Similar signal paths are established in each of the path establishers 202 c , 202 d , 202 e , and 202 f.
- this sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is set as the master apparatus (prt) and the other five apparatuses are set as the slave apparatuses (chd).
- the following operations are executed after signal paths (A), (B), (C), and (D) are established in the path establisher 202 a of the master apparatus (prt) and signal paths (E), (F), (G), and (H) are established in each of the path establishers 202 b , 202 c , 202 d , 202 e , and 202 f of the slave apparatuses (chd).
- a sound signal derived from sound received by the microphone 12 of the single master apparatus (prt) and sound signals derived from sounds received by the microphones 12 of the five slave apparatuses (chd) are sequentially added together by the adders 245 , and the resultant signal is provided to the first input terminal 221 of the master apparatus (prt).
- a sound signal that is provided from the network 400 and is input to the distal-end input terminal 211 of the master apparatus (prt) and sound signals provided from networks 400 and are input to the distal-end input terminals 211 of the five slave apparatuses (chd) are sequentially added together by the adders 246 , and the resultant signal is provided to the second input terminal 222 of the master apparatus (prt).
- the sound signal provided to the first input terminal 221 of the master apparatus (prt) and the sound signal provided to the second input terminal 222 of the master apparatus (prt) are added together by the adder 247 , and then the resultant signal is output sequentially from the distal-end output terminal 213 of the master apparatus (prt) and from the distal-end output terminal 213 of each slave apparatus (chd) toward the corresponding networks 400 .
- the sound signal provided to the second input terminal 222 of the master apparatus (prt) is distributed sequentially to the master apparatus (prt) and to the five slave apparatuses (chd), and sound based on the sound signal is output from each of the loudspeakers 18 . In this way, sound based on the signal derived by adding together the sound signals provided from the networks 400 is output from each loudspeaker 18 .
- the third embodiment it is possible to exchange sound signals with other systems at distant locations.
- the third embodiment similarly to the second embodiment, even when a meeting room is large or a number of participants is large, many sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 can be installed for distribution over a wide range, as long as the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are circularly connected by the cables C.
- the number of connected apparatuses is “6”; however, the number may be any number equal to or greater than “2”.
- the number of connected apparatuses is “2”, however, the connection configuration by the cables C will be almost the same as that in the first embodiment, and no advantage will be obtained by deploying a ring connection.
- the delay time of the delay device 241 is set to “n ⁇ d” and the delay time of the delay device 243 is set to “(m ⁇ n)d”.
- denotations “m” and “d” are as described in the second embodiment.
- the denotation “n” for a slave apparatus (chd) represents a number of the subject apparatus when counted from the master apparatus (prt) along the flow of signals in the ring connection, as in the second embodiment.
- the denotation “n” for the master apparatus (prt) is “0”, which is not the same value as that of the denotation “m”.
- the denotation “m” is “6”. Since the path establisher 202 a (sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a ) is set as the master apparatus (prt), the “n” for the path establisher 202 a is “0”. Accordingly, in the path establisher 202 a , the delay time of the delay device 241 is set to “0” and the delay time of the delay device 243 is set to “6 ⁇ d”.
- the denotation “n” for the path establishers 202 b to 202 f are respectively “1” to “6”. Accordingly, in the path establisher 202 b , the delay time of the delay device 241 is set to “1 ⁇ d” and the delay time of the delay device 243 is set to “5 ⁇ d”. In the path establisher 202 c , for example, the delay time of the delay device 241 is set to “2 ⁇ d” and the delay time of the delay device 243 is set to “4 ⁇ d”. FIG.
- 20 is a diagram where coefficients of “d” are expressed as “(p, q)” in each of the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 a to 10 f , in a case where the delay time set to the delay device 241 is “p ⁇ d” and the delay time set to the delay device 243 is “q ⁇ d”. For example, since it is “( 4 , 2 )” in the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 e , the delay time set to the delay device 241 is “4 ⁇ d” and the delay time set to the delay device 243 is “2 ⁇ d”.
- a sound signal input to the first input terminal 221 is provided to the third output terminal 233 without being added together with a sound signal input to the microphone terminal 212
- a sound signal input to the second input terminal 222 is provided to the fourth output terminal 234 without being added together with a sound signal input to the distal-end input terminal 211 .
- the sound signal input to the first input terminal 221 may be provided to the third output terminal 233 after being added together with the sound signal input to the microphone terminal 212 ; and the sound signal input to the second input terminal 222 may be provided to the fourth output terminal 234 after being added together with the sound signal input to the distal-end input terminal 211 .
- FIG. 21 shows an exemplary case where the path establisher 202 f (sound emission-reception apparatus 10 f ) is set as the master apparatus (prt).
- the signal paths in a slave apparatus are the same as those shown in FIG. 19 .
- sound signals derived from sounds received by the microphones 12 are sequentially added together by the adders 245 .
- Sound signals provided from networks 400 are sequentially added together by the adders 246 .
- the sound signals derived from sounds received by the microphones 12 and the sound signals provided from the networks 400 are added together by the adder 247 , and the resultant signal is output from the third output terminal 233 of the master apparatus (prt).
- a sound signal derived by the adders 246 sequentially adding together the sound signals provided from the networks 400 is output from the fourth output terminal 234 of the master apparatus (prt).
- the sound signal output from the third output terminal 233 of the master apparatus (prt) is output from the distal-end output terminal 213 of each of the five slave apparatuses (chd) and from the distal-end output terminal 213 of the master apparatus (prt) toward the corresponding networks 400 .
- the sound signal output from the fourth output terminal 234 of the master apparatus (prt) is distributed sequentially to the five slave apparatus (chd) and to the master apparatus (prt), and sound based on the sound signal is output from each loudspeaker 18 .
- sound based on the signal derived by adding together the sound signals provided from the networks 400 is output from each of the loudspeakers 18 .
- the delay time of the delay device 241 and the delay time of the delay device 243 may be set in accordance in the manner described with reference to FIG. 19 and FIG. 20 , assuming that the position of the master apparatus (prt) is shifted by one apparatus in a direction in opposing relation to the direction from the first output terminal 231 to the first input terminal 221 .
- the denotation “n” is defined by assuming that the position of the master apparatus (prt) is not at the position of the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 f , but at the position of the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a , the position shifted by one apparatus from the actual position.
- FIG. 22 is a diagram in which, with respect to the signal paths shown in FIG. 21 , the delay time of the delay device 241 and the delay time of the delay device 243 are set similarly to those in FIG. 20 . Since the master apparatus (prt) is treated as being located at the position of the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a , which is the position shifted by one apparatus from the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 f , the delay time set for the delay device 241 and the delay time set for the delay device 243 in each of the path establisher 202 a (sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a ) to the path establisher 202 f (sound emission-reception apparatus 10 f ) are the same as those shown in FIG. 20 .
- an exemplary method to determine the master apparatus (prt) and the slave apparatuses (chd) would be to randomly determine one apparatus from among multiple sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 connected to the networks to be the master apparatus (prt), and determine the remaining apparatuses to be the slave apparatuses (chd).
- the path indicator 104 in each of the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 connected to the networks 400 causes a random number to be generated, and the communication device 150 is caused to transmit the generated random number to each of the other sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 connected to the networks 400 .
- the path indicator 104 of the subject sound emission-reception apparatus 10 may determine itself to be the master apparatus (prt) and determine the other apparatuses to be the slave apparatuses (chd).
- a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 selected by the user may be determined to be the master apparatus (prt).
- FIG. 23 is a diagram showing signal paths in a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 according to an exemplary application of the third embodiment.
- FIG. 23 shows, as an example, signal paths that are set in a slave apparatus (chd).
- components of a sound signal from a network 400 connected to a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 are added to components of sound signals from other networks 400 and are output to the same network 400 , thereby causing signal deterioration such as an echo.
- a delay device 248 for delaying a sound signal that is from a network 400 and is input to the distal-end input terminal 211 ; and a subtractor 249 for subtracting the sound signal delayed by the delay device 248 from a sound signal to be output toward the network 400 from the distal-end output terminal 213 .
- Components of a sound signal from a network 400 connected to a single sound emission-reception apparatus 10 circuit the ring connection and are output toward the network 400 .
- the delay time when the components circuit the ring connection is “m ⁇ d”.
- components of a sound signal input from a network 400 can be removed from a sound signal output toward the network 400 . In this way, deterioration of sound signals output toward the network 400 can be suppressed.
- an echo canceller 244 there is provided an echo canceller 244 .
- the echo canceller 244 generates a simulated echo component by filtering a sound signal output toward the loudspeaker terminal 214 with filter coefficients that accord with an estimated transfer function of acoustic space from the loudspeaker 18 to the microphone 12 .
- the echo canceller 244 then subtracts the generated simulated echo component from a sound signal input to the microphone terminal 212 to output the resultant signal.
- a slave apparatus (chd) is described as an example in this figure. Since the positions of the delay device 248 , the subtractor 249 , and the echo canceller 244 may be the same in the master apparatus (prt) as those in the slave apparatus (chd), description thereof is omitted.
- FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an exemplary connection (example 1) between sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 according to the fourth embodiment.
- six sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are connected in a tree-shaped structure.
- “a”, “b”, “c”, “d”, “e”, and “f” are added to the tails of reference signs; and “a”, “b”, “c”, “d”, “e”, and “f” are omitted when the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 need not be distinguished.
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a marked with a star is located at the top, and the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 b and 10 c are located one level below.
- the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 d and 10 e are located one level below the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 f is located one level below the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 c .
- three sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 d , 10 e , and 10 f are located at the lowest level; the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b is located one level above the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 d and 10 e ; the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 c is located one level above the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 f ; and the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a is located one level above the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 b and 10 c.
- a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 located at a higher level and a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 located at a lower level are connected by a cable C.
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b is connected to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a at a higher level with a cable C, and is connected to each of the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 d and 10 e at a lower level with cables C.
- a single cable C transmits four signals.
- signal paths established in the path establisher 202 of the single sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a at the top alone are different from those established in the other sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 b , 10 c , 10 d , 10 e , and 10 f .
- the sound emission-reception apparatus located at the highest point is referred to as “top node”, and sound emission-reception apparatuses located at other points are referred to as “common nodes”.
- the number of points at which a cable C is connected to a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is “3”, for example.
- the top node three points are used for connection to sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 located lower than the top node.
- a common node two out of three points are used for connection to sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 located lower than the subject common node, and the remaining one point is used for connection to a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 located higher than the subject common node. Not all of the three points are always used for connection.
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a shown in FIG. 24 only two points are used for connection; and in each of the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 d , 10 e , and 10 f , only one point is used for connection.
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a is set as the top node in the connection shown in FIG. 24 .
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 c may be set as the top node, without changing the connections by the cables C.
- FIG. 28 is a diagram showing functional blocks of a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 according to the fourth embodiment.
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 of the fourth embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in that the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 does not include the notification device 130 or the input device 140 (first difference) and in the signal paths in the path establisher 202 established by the DSP 200 (second difference).
- the first difference results from the fact that the fourth embodiment, similarly to the third embodiment, allows network connections to be made by multiple apparatuses and thus there is no need for elements in selecting one apparatus.
- the second difference results from the fact that, compared to the first embodiment, there are provided in the path establisher 202 formed by the DSP 200 : a second input terminal 222 , a third input terminal 223 , a fourth input terminal 224 , a fifth input terminal 225 , and a sixth input terminal 226 , in addition to a first input terminal 221 ; and a second output terminal 232 , a third output terminal 233 , a fourth output terminal 234 , a fifth output terminal 235 , and a sixth output terminal 236 , in addition a first output terminal 231 .
- the ADCs 251 to 256 convert proximal-end sound signals into digital signals and provide the digital signals to the first input terminal 221 to the sixth input terminal 226 , respectively.
- the DACs 261 to 266 convert sound signals output from the first output terminal 231 to the sixth output terminal 236 , respectively, into analog signals, and output the analog signals toward another apparatus at a proximal-end.
- the reference sign 222 of the second input terminal to the reference sign 225 of the fifth input terminal, the reference sign 232 of the second output terminal to the reference sign 235 of the fifth output terminal, the reference signs 251 to 256 of the ADCs, and the reference signs 261 to 266 of the DACs, are omitted in FIG. 28 .
- one among multiple (here six) sound emission-reception apparatuses is determined to be the top node, and the other five apparatuses are determined to be common nodes.
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a is determined to be the top node, and the other sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 b , 10 c , 10 d , 10 e , and 10 f are each determined to be a common node.
- FIG. 29 is a diagram showing signal paths established in the path establisher 202 of a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 determined to be the top node.
- FIG. 30 is a diagram showing signal paths established in the path establisher 202 of a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 determined to be a common node.
- connection points of cables C to sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 located below is “3”, and the connection points are expressed as “Dn 1 ”, “Dn 2 ”, and “Dn 3 ” in order to distinguish them (refer to FIG. 29 ).
- connection point Dn 1 includes the first input terminal 221 , the second input terminal 222 , the first output terminal 231 , and the second output terminal 232 .
- connection point Dn 2 includes the third input terminal 223 , the fourth input terminal 224 , the third output terminal 233 , and the fourth output terminal 234 ; and the connection point Dn 3 includes the fifth input terminal 225 , the sixth input terminal 226 , the fifth output terminal 235 , and the sixth output terminal 236 .
- connection point Up of a common node replaces the connection point Dn 3 of the top node. Accordingly, the connection point Up of a common node includes the fifth input terminal 225 , the sixth input terminal 226 , the fifth output terminal 235 , and the sixth output terminal 236 .
- Expressions “Dn 1 ”, “Dn 2 ”, and “Dn 3 ” in the top node and expressions “Dn 1 ”, “Dn 2 ”, and “Up” in a common node are used to distinguish three connection points in a single sound emission-reception apparatus 10 for convenience, and do not intend to indicate particular connection points in a fixed manner.
- connection point at the same position as the certain connection point may serve as “Up” in another sound emission-reception apparatus 10 determined to be a common node.
- a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 may change from a common node to a top node, or change from a top node to a common node.
- a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is determined to be a common node and a particular connection point therein serves as “Up” for connection to an apparatus located above
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 may be changed to the top node and the particular connection point may be changed to “Dn 3 ”.
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 may be changed to a common node and the particular connection point may be changed to “Up”.
- connections by the cables C are not from the first output terminal 231 to the sixth output terminal 236 to the first input terminal 221 to the sixth input terminal 226 , but from the DACs 261 to 266 to the ADCs 251 to 256 .
- the DACs 261 to 266 and the ADCs 251 to 256 are optional elements and do not affect the signal paths, they are disregarded.
- the order of addition at the adders 271 , 272 , 273 , and 291 is not limited to the above example. Alternatively, a single adder may collectively add together the signals added by these adders. Similarly, the order of addition at the adders 281 , 282 , and 283 is not limited to the above example, and the signals added by these adders may be added together collectively by a single adder.
- the order of addition by the adders 275 and 276 is not limited to the above example, and the signals added by these adders may be collectively added together.
- the order of addition by the adders 285 and 286 is not limited to the above example, and the signals added by these adders may be collectively added together.
- connection point Up shown in FIG. 30 may appear to be changed from the connection point Dn 3 shown in FIG. 29 , any of the connection points Dn 1 , Dn 2 , and Dn 3 may be changed to the connection point Up. Even when a connection point among the connection points Dn 1 , Dn 2 , and Dn 3 that is to be changed to “Up” is not determined in advance, the connection point can be changed to the connection point Up in the following manner.
- the path indicator 104 may acquire information indicating which sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is connected to which connection point by communicating each other with other apparatuses after being connected with the cables C, may determine the connection point that leads to the top node from the acquired information, and may change the connection point to the “Up”.
- a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 (common node) at the lowest level provides a sound signal derived from sound received by the microphone 12 to a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 located above, and similarly, provides a sound signal from the network 400 input to the distal-end input terminal 211 to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 located above.
- a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 (common node) at a middle level, located at neither the lowest nor the highest level, adds together a sound signal derived from sound received by its own microphone 12 and sound signals that are from microphones 12 and are provided by apparatuses located below; provides the resultant sound signal to a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 located above; adds together a sound signal from the network 400 input to the distal-end input terminal 211 and sound signals from other networks 400 provided by sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 located below; and provides the resultant sound signal to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 located above.
- a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 (top node) at the highest level adds together a sound signal derived from sound received by its own microphone 12 , sound signals that are from microphones 12 and are provided by sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 located below, a sound signal from the network 400 input to the distal-end input terminal 211 , and sound signals from networks 400 provided by the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 located below; provides the resultant sound signal (combined signal of microphone signals and network signals) to the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 located below and to the distal-end output terminal 213 ; adds together the sound signal from the network 400 input to the distal-end input terminal 211 and the sound signals from the networks 400 provided from the apparatuses located below; and provides the resultant sound signal (combined signal of network signals alone) to the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 located below and to the loudspeaker terminal 214 .
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 at a middle level provides the combined signal of the microphone and network signals provided by a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 located above to sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 located below and to the distal-end output terminal 213 , and provides the combined signal of the network-alone signals provided by the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 located above to the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 located below and to its own loudspeaker terminal 214 .
- a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 at the lowest level provides the distal-end output terminal 213 with the combined signal of the microphone and network signals provided by a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 located above, and provides the loudspeaker terminal 214 with the combined signal of the network-alone signals.
- sound signals derived from sounds received by microphones 12 are sequentially added together from the lowest level to a higher level, and sound signals input from the networks 400 are similarly added together sequentially from the lowest level to a higher level.
- the top node adds together a sound signal derived from sound received by its own microphone 12 , a sound signal that is derived by sequential addition of sound signals from microphones 12 at lower levels, and a sound signal that is derived by sequential addition of sound signals from networks 400 at lower levels; and provides the resultant signal as the combined signal of the microphone and network signals to the lower apparatuses and outputs the resultant signal to the network 400 connected to itself.
- the top node adds together a sound signal from the network 400 connected to itself and a sound signal that is derived by sequential addition of sound signals from networks 400 at lower levels; and provides the resultant signal as the combined signal of the network-alone signals to the lower apparatuses and causes its own loudspeaker 18 to output sound based on the resultant signal.
- the combined signal of the microphone and network signals is sequentially distributed to the lower apparatuses and is output toward each network 400 ; and the combined signal of the network-alone signals is sequentially distributed to the lower apparatuses and is output toward each loudspeaker 18 .
- the top node and the common nodes are determined in accordance with a predetermined rule, or determined randomly.
- An exemplary method for determination in accordance with a predetermined rule may include: detecting a maximum number of nodes in a path among paths, each path originating from a terminal sound emission-reception apparatus 10 at the lowest level in a tree-connection structure, which apparatus has no apparatus connected to it lower than itself, passing through the top node, and reaching another terminal sound emission-reception apparatus 10 ; and determining the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 that is located in the middle of the path to be the top node and determining the other apparatuses to be the common nodes.
- the path in which the number of nodes is the highest originates from the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 d (or 10 e ), passing through the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 b , 10 a , and 10 c , and reaching the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 f .
- the maximum number of nodes is “3”. Accordingly, the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a , which is located in the middle of the path, is determined to be the top node.
- Examples of a method to determine the top node and the common nodes randomly include those described in the second embodiment and the third embodiment.
- the top node and the common nodes are preferably determined at a timing when a change is made to the tree-connection structure.
- Examples of “when a change is made to the tree-connection structure” include a case where one or more sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are connected to the tree-connection structure, and also a case where one or more sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are cut from the tree-connection structure.
- a tree-connection structure of an exemplary connection (example 1) shown in FIG. 24 may be united with a tree-connection structure of an exemplary connection (example 3) shown in FIG. 26 to create a tree-connection structure of an exemplary connection (example 4) shown in FIG. 27 .
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 g marked with a star is the top node, and the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 h and 10 i are common nodes.
- one among the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 a to 10 i is determined to be the top node, and the other apparatuses are determined to be common nodes.
- the path with the maximum number of nodes is, for example, a path from the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 d to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 h , and thus, the maximum number of nodes is “3”. Accordingly, the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a that is located in the middle of the path may be determined to be the top node.
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 g which was the top node before unification, is changed to a common node after unification.
- the delay time of the delay device 241 that delays sound signals derived from sound received by the microphone 12 is set to “(i ⁇ j)d”; and the delay time of the delay device 243 that delays sound signals output toward the loudspeaker 18 is set to “j ⁇ d”.
- the denotation “i” is a maximum number of nodes from the top node to a terminal common node.
- the denotation “j” for a common node is the number of nodes that exist along a path from the subject common node to the top nodes, and the denotation “j” for the top node is zero.
- the denotation “i” is “2” because the number of nodes from the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 a to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 d ( 10 e or 10 f ) would be the highest.
- the denotation “j” for each of the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 b and 10 c is “1”, and the denotation “j” for each of the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 d , 10 e , and 10 f is “2”.
- the delay time set for the delay device 241 is “1 ⁇ d” and the delay time set for the delay device 243 is “1 ⁇ d”.
- “i” is “3” because the number of nodes from the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 c to the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 d (or 10 e ) would be the highest.
- the denotation “j” for each of the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 a and 10 f is “1”
- the denotation “j” for the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 b is “2”
- the denotation “j” for each of the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 d and 10 e is “3”.
- coefficients of delay times set for the delay devices 241 and 243 in each of the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 a to 10 f are as shown in FIG. 32 .
- the fourth embodiment it is possible to exchange sound signals with other systems at distant locations.
- multiple sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 are connected with cables C in a tree-shaped structure.
- factors such as a shape of a meeting room, a number of participants, or a positioning of the participants are not likely to impose constraints on arrangement of sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 .
- multiple sound emission-reception apparatus 10 can be connected to networks 400 . Accordingly, there is no need to fixedly connect one sound emission-reception apparatus 10 to a network 400 , and any sound emission-reception apparatus 10 can be connected to a network 400 at need. Accordingly, multiple sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 can be disposed flexibly.
- the number of connected apparatuses is “6”.
- the number of connected apparatuses may be any number equal to or greater than “2”.
- the connection configuration by the cables C will be nearly the same as that in the first embodiment, and there will be no advantage of having a tree-connection structure.
- FIG. 33 is a diagram showing signal paths in the top node
- FIG. 34 is a diagram showing signal paths in a common node, among signal paths in sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 according to an exemplary application of the fourth embodiment.
- the fourth embodiment sound signals input from multiple networks 400 and sound signals derived from sounds received by multiple microphones 12 are added together, and the resultant sound signal is output toward each of the multiple networks 400 . Accordingly, signal deterioration such as echo may occur.
- each common node there are provided in the top node and in each common node a delay device 248 that delays a sound signal that is from a network 400 and is input to the distal-end input terminal 211 ; and a subtractor 249 that subtracts the sound signal delayed by the delay device 248 from a sound signal to be output from the distal-end output terminal 213 toward the network 400 .
- components of a sound signal input to a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 from a network 400 are provided in a round-trip path, commencing from the subject apparatus to the top node and then back to the subject apparatus.
- the delay time generated in this round-trip is “2j ⁇ d”.
- echo cancellers 244 are provided. Similarly to FIG. 10 , FIG. 17 , and FIG. 23 , an echo canceller 244 here is configured to generate a simulated echo component by filtering a sound signal output toward the loudspeaker terminal 214 with filter coefficients that accord with an estimated transfer function of acoustic space from the loudspeaker 18 to the microphone 12 ; and to subtract the generated simulated echo component from a sound signal input to the microphone terminal 212 to output the resultant signal.
- an echo canceller 244 here is configured to generate a simulated echo component by filtering a sound signal output toward the loudspeaker terminal 214 with filter coefficients that accord with an estimated transfer function of acoustic space from the loudspeaker 18 to the microphone 12 ; and to subtract the generated simulated echo component from a sound signal input to the microphone terminal 212 to output the resultant signal.
- the number of connection points for the cables C at the top node and the common nodes is “3”, but may be “4” or more.
- the number of connection points is “5” in a common node, there may be four connection points to sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 at a lower level, and one connection point to a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 at a higher level.
- the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can take various applied or modified forms as described below. One or more of the modes of application or modification described below can be combined as appropriate.
- the present invention is described as a sound signal processing device in a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 .
- the present invention may be understood as a sound signal processing method, as well as a sound signal processing device.
- the DSP 200 , the ADC 14 , the ADC 251 , the DAC 16 , and the DAC 261 are described as separate bodies in the first embodiment (refer to FIG. 2 ), for example.
- the DSP 200 may house each of these ADCs and each of these DACs.
- the path establisher 202 is formed by the DSP 200 .
- a circuit for the signal paths of the top node and a circuit for the signal paths of the common node may be provided in a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 in advance and may be switched.
- multiple ADCs including an ADC that converts sound signals derived from sound received by the microphone 12 and multiple DACs including a DAC that converts sound signals output toward the loudspeaker 18 .
- physically a single ADC may be operated in a time divisional manner to function as if there are multiple ADCs.
- physically a single DAC may be operated in a time divisional manner to function as if there are multiple DACs.
- Calculations executed in the path establisher 202 may include, in addition to addition and subtraction of two or more signals, outputting a signal with a greatest amplitude from among two or more signals and discarding other signals.
- the communication device 150 communicates with other apparatuses by radio.
- the communication device 150 may utilize wired or infrared communication.
- the communication device 150 may be used to uniformly set parameters used in sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 in the same system. More specifically, in a case where the volume of sound output from the loudspeaker 18 of a sound emission-reception apparatus 10 is adjusted, the communication device 150 may transmit a parameter indicating the volume to another apparatus. The other apparatus changes its volume to the volume indicated by the received parameter. In this way, the volume may be made uniform among all or a part of the sound emission-reception apparatuses 10 forming the system 1 .
- the sound emission-reception apparatus 10 includes the ADCs and the DACs, and analog signals are transmitted through the cables C.
- the ADCs and the DACs may be omitted and digital signals may be transmitted through the cables C.
- the CPU 100 and the DSP 200 are described as separate bodies.
- the functions of the CPU 100 and the functions of the DSP may be realized by the same at least one processor.
- the functions of the DSP 200 may be realized by the CPU 100 .
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Abstract
Description
- (A) a signal path through which a sound signal is provided to the distal-
end output terminal 213, the sound signal being derived by anadder 242 adding together a sound signal that is input to themicrophone terminal 212 and is delayed by a delay device 241 (first delay device) and a sound signal input to thefirst input terminal 221; and - (B) a signal path through which a sound signal input to the distal-
end input terminal 211 is provided to thefirst output terminal 231 and through which the sound signal that is input to the distal-end input terminal 211 and is delayed by a delay device 243 (second delay device) is provided to theloudspeaker terminal 214.
- (C) a signal path through which a sound signal input to the
microphone terminal 212 is provided to thefirst output terminal 231; and - (D) a signal path through which a sound signal input to the
first input terminal 221 is provided to theloudspeaker terminal 214.
- (A) a signal path through which a sound signal that is input to the
microphone terminal 212 and is delayed by thedelay device 241 is provided to thefirst output terminal 231; - (B) a signal path through which a sound signal input to the distal-
end input terminal 211 is provided to thesecond output terminal 232; - (C) a signal path through which a sound signal input to the
first input terminal 221 is provided to the distal-end output terminal 213; and - (D) a signal path through which a sound signal that is input to the
second input terminal 222 and is delayed by thedelay device 243 is provided to theloudspeaker terminal 214.
- (E) a signal path through which a signal is provided to the
first output terminal 231, wherein the signal is derived by theadder 242 adding together a sound signal input to themicrophone terminal 212 and delayed by thedelay device 241, and a sound signal input to thefirst input terminal 221; and - (F) a signal path through which a sound signal input to the
second input terminal 222 is provided to thesecond output terminal 232 and through which the sound signal is provided, after being delayed by thedelay device 243, to theloudspeaker terminal 214.
- (A) a signal path through which a sound signal input to the
microphone terminal 212 and delayed by thedelay device 241 is provided to thefirst output terminal 231; - (B) a signal path through which a sound signal input to the distal-
end input terminal 211 is provided to thesecond output terminal 232; - (C) a signal path through which a sound signal is provided to the
third output terminal 233 and to the distal-end output terminal 213, wherein the sound signal is derived by anadder 247 adding together a sound signal input to thefirst input terminal 221 and a sound signal provided to thesecond input terminal 222; and - (D) a signal path through which the sound signal input to the
second input terminal 222 is provided to thefourth output terminal 234 and through which the sound signal is provided, after being delayed by thedelay device 243, to theloudspeaker terminal 214.
- (E) a signal path through which a sound signal is provided to the
first output terminal 231, wherein the sound signal is derived by anadder 245 adding together a sound signal input to themicrophone terminal 212 and delayed by thedelay device 241 and a sound signal input to thefirst input terminal 221; - (F) a signal path through which a sound signal is provided to the
second output terminal 232, wherein the sound signal is derived by anadder 246 adding together a sound signal input to the distal-end input terminal 211 and a sound signal input to thesecond input terminal 222; and - (G) a signal path through which a sound signal input to the
third input terminal 223 is provided to thethird output terminal 233 and to the distal-end output terminal 213; - (H) a signal path through which a sound signal input to the
fourth input terminal 224 is provided to thefourth output terminal 234 and through which the sound signal is provided, after being delayed by thedelay device 243, to theloudspeaker terminal 214.
- (A) a signal path through which a sound signal is provided to the
third output terminal 233, wherein the sound signal is derived by theadders microphone terminal 212 and delayed by thedelay device 241, a sound signal input to thefirst input terminal 221, a sound signal input to thesecond input terminal 222, and a sound signal input to the distal-end input terminal 211; - (B) a signal path through which a sound signal is provided to the
fourth output terminal 234, wherein the sound signal is derived by theadder 246 adding together the sound signal input to thesecond input terminal 222 and the sound signal input to the distal-end input terminal 211; - (C) a signal path through which a sound signal input to the
third input terminal 223 is provided to the distal-end output terminal 213; and - (D) a signal path through which a sound signal input to the
fourth input terminal 224 and delayed by thedelay device 243 is provided to theloudspeaker terminal 214.
- (A) a signal path through which a sound signal is provided to each of the distal-
end output terminal 213, thefirst output terminal 231, thethird output terminal 233, and thefifth output terminal 235, wherein the sound signal is derived by anadder 291 adding together a sound signal output from anadder 283 and a sound signal derived by theadders microphone terminal 212 and delayed by thedelay device 241, a sound signal input to thefirst input terminal 221, a sound signal input to thethird input terminal 223, and a sound signal input to thefifth input terminal 225; and - (B) a signal path through which a sound signal is provided to each of the input terminal of the
adder 291, thesecond output terminal 232, thefourth output terminal 234, and thesixth output terminal 236, and to theloudspeaker terminal 214 through thedelay device 243, wherein the sound signal is derived by theadders end input terminal 211, a sound signal input to thesecond input terminal 222, a sound signal input tofourth input terminal 224, and a sound signal input to thesixth input terminal 226.
- (C) a signal path through which a sound signal is provided to the
fifth output terminal 235, wherein the sound signal is derived by theadders microphone terminal 212 and delayed by thedelay device 241, a sound signal input to thefirst input terminal 221, and a sound signal input to thethird input terminal 223; - (D) a signal path through which a sound signal is provided to the
sixth output terminal 236, wherein the sound signal is derived by theadders end input terminal 211, a sound signal input to thesecond input terminal 222, and a sound signal input to thefourth input terminal 224; - (E) a signal path through which a sound signal input to the
fifth input terminal 225 is provided to each of thefirst output terminal 231, thethird output terminal 233, and the distal-end output terminal 213; and - (F) a signal path through which a sound signal input to the
sixth input terminal 226 is provided to thesecond output terminal 232 and to thefourth output terminal 234, and through which the sound signal is provided to theloudspeaker terminal 214 after being delayed by thedelay device 243.
Claims (20)
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US11589159B2 (en) * | 2018-06-15 | 2023-02-21 | The Board Of Trustees Of The Leland Stanford Junior University | Networked audio auralization and feedback cancellation system and method |
USD886759S1 (en) * | 2018-09-13 | 2020-06-09 | Plantronics, Inc. | Speakerphone |
USD901427S1 (en) * | 2018-10-19 | 2020-11-10 | Yealink (Xiamen) Network Technology Co., Ltd. | Conference voice communication device |
USD1000428S1 (en) | 2020-03-25 | 2023-10-03 | Plantronics, Inc. | Microphone unit |
USD937238S1 (en) * | 2020-08-05 | 2021-11-30 | Shenzhen Innotrik Technology Co., Ltd. | Speakerphone |
USD987606S1 (en) * | 2021-02-08 | 2023-05-30 | Google Llc | Microphone |
USD1009006S1 (en) * | 2021-03-03 | 2023-12-26 | Guangzhou Shiyuan Electronic Technology Company Limited | Wireless omnidirectional microphone |
USD1026870S1 (en) * | 2023-11-28 | 2024-05-14 | Qingwu Zeng | Pair of earphones with charging case |
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EP3468161A1 (en) | 2019-04-10 |
US20190089839A1 (en) | 2019-03-21 |
CN109155806A (en) | 2019-01-04 |
WO2017203673A1 (en) | 2017-11-30 |
EP3468161B1 (en) | 2022-06-22 |
EP3468161A4 (en) | 2019-12-11 |
JP6652192B2 (en) | 2020-02-19 |
CN109155806B (en) | 2021-06-18 |
JPWO2017203673A1 (en) | 2019-01-10 |
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